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Trista Ravenlark
Trista Ravenlark is a female half-elf rogue in the Emeron campaign. She was a PC in the first campaign, and appears as an NPC in the second and third campaigns. Summary Trista Ravenlark is a Hero of Unity and the leader of the Raven's Eye. She has assisted the Heroes of Prophecy and the Joined of Vesper as well. Background Little is known about Trista's childhood or upbringing beyond the fact that she was born in Emeron City and raised on the city streets. She was forced to fight and steal to survive on the streets, often fending herself at a loss to maintain both her safety and any money she might have earned due to the street gangs and underworld crime bosses. In 1072 she had a chance to join a small fledgling group of adventurers. Seeing a life where she would not need to cut purses or scrabble to make ends meet she jumped at the chance. That group went on to become the Heroes of Unity. Heroes of Unity Among her adventures with the Heroes of Unity Trista traveled throughout the Principalities of Emeron and beyond and helped defeat Kingpriest Notil when he attempted to assert a theocratic coup in 1073, found Joslin Woodbridge and recovered the Crown of the Monarch allowing him to lay proper claim to the throne of a united Emeron. Her role in the group was often to keep everyone focused on the task at hand, though she rarely passed up the opportunity for treasure. She fought in the Battle of Unity alongside her companions and when a freshly crowned King Joslin offered her a boon it was generally reported that she asked for gold, but rumored she reached an agreement to to form the Raven's Eye. Trista, alongside Benverho and Beastnut, also rescued an orphaned child and raised him. The boy grew up to be Christopher Ravenut. After the Battle of Unity With her money from adventuring and the Crown, as well as many hard won skills Trista began seeking to clean up and take over the underworld in Emeron City. A pragmatic woman, she knew thievery, corruption and graft would never go away, and that the unscrupulous would always seek to take advantage, but she had no tolerance for the innocent being harmed in the process. She formed an organization called the Raven's Eye that focused on intelligence gathering and overseeing the crime in Emeron City. They sought to take a small cut of the profits in exchange for providing intelligence on good robbery targets and benefits if the heat was on a particular thief. They did not tolerate unsanctioned violence, crime upon children, or rape. If a thief violated these rules or otherwise crossed the Raven's Eye, Trista would deploy the Raven's Claw, a small portion of her organization that specialized in violence and assassination. The changes did not come quickly or easily, as the established gangs of Emeron City were not keen to accept Trista's group and it's ideals and from 1074-1075 she, aided by her fellow Heroes of Unity Kyril Shatterstone, Beastnut and Russel Cormack, was forced to kill a number of the more violent and amoral underworld figures. Trista's efforts were aided by a number of crackdowns by the newly formed Emerald Knights upon several underworld organizations, though these efforts never seemed to harm the Raven's Eye very badly. By 1077 the Raven's Eye was considered the undisputed power in the underworld of Emeron City. Publicly Trista is a simple import/export trader with a small shop called Trista's Treasures. Helping the Heroes of Prophecy The Unsanctioned Robbery In the summer of 1129 a thief in the Raven's Eye named Taris had procured a number of charm potions and seduced a young wizard named Patara, who was an apprentice to the Great White Wizard Dillman. He convinced her to steal a number of magical items from the legendary wizard. When Trista received word of this she immediately set the organization to find Taris so the items could be returned to Dillman, as Trista had no urge to steal from, nor anger, someone of Dillman's power. Unfortunately Taris managed to flee the city. Dillman hired a group of adventurers, who later became the Heroes of Prophecy, to recover the items. Trista provided them what she knew of Taris, what had been found in his home, and the assistance of a member of the Raven's Claw named Lena Talzwon. Their mission was successful and Dillman deemed Trista's efforts sufficient to avoid retaliation or involvement of the Crown in the affair. A Friend in Need In the Autumn of 1129 Dandy Lion and the Heroes of Prophecy informed Trista that her old adventuring companion Eddie Drezzen had been replaced by an impostor and was likely safe somewhere, suspended in animation. Along with Eddie's old friend and companion Taltharian, Trista agreed to help. She gathered a few volunteers among her guild and traveled to Cliffshire, where she was set to meet up with the Heroes of Prophecy to face the impostor Eddie. Trista's party made their way to Cliffshire, arriving in the last days 1129. However they were ambushed by a party of mercenaries sent by the impostor Eddie. Most of Trista's people were killed and she and Taltharian barely escaped, fleeing north and meeting up with the Heroes of Prophecy. On the 8th of Yeti, 1130, the Heroes of Prophecy, joined by Trista and Taltharian, reached Drezzenville and faced off against the impostor of Eddie Drezzen. In an epic fight they defeated the impostor and the force of elite mercenaries he had hired, though the real Eddie was nowhere to be found. They did find correspondence to indicate that Brollo Goldpipe, the mayor of Home, was also an impostor and involved in the greater conspiracy to bring the Dragon Queen to Goric. Trista and Taltharian accompanied the Heroes to Home, assisting in the battle against Brollo and slaying him, finally finding the real Eddie Drezzen and freeing him from suspended animation. Seeking Allies Trista, Taltharian and Eddie accompanied the Heroes of Prophecy north to Tralpar. Dandy Lion and Taltharian advocated attempting to convince the Queen of the Glave Woods, with whom Dandy was acquainted, to assist in fighting off the Dragon Queen should she appear, though the Heroes needed to proceed north to continue trying to collect the artifacts the enemy was after. Ultimately it was decided that Trista, Taltharian, Dandy and Kagami of Towa would head west while the rest of the heroes traveled north. Attempted Diplomacy Trista's party reached the Glave Woods and, with the help of Dandy Lion, was able to secure an audience with Queen Parthalanis. They were not able to convince her to send any elven forces north, however. Trista returned to Emeron City and began making preparations within the Raven's Eye in case a battle came to Emeron City Unexpected Love While on the road with Taltharian when helping the Heroes of Prophecy Trista and Taltharian began to grow quite close and by the time they returned to Emeron City the feelings of attraction and mutual respect had blossomed into love. The two began a romance, even though as a full elf Taltharian would age much more slowly. Though Trista remained in Emeron City, Taltharian went to the Dwarven Mountains to help prevent the Dragon Queen from coming to Goric. When the Gods offered him a boon for his aid, he wished for Trista to live the lifespan of an elf so that they could be together for the rest of both their lives. The gods granted this boon and Trista's aging slowed to that of a full blooded elf. Taltharian returned to Emeron City after the Dragon Queen's plot was thwarted in 1130 and resumed his studies in the Emeron Wizard's College. He and Trista continued their romance until around 1140 when things began to cool. She had never appreciated that he had made such a monumental decision about her life without her consent, and his obsessive focus on his studies often consumed more of his time than she liked. They two ultimately agreed that, though they still cared deeply for one another, romance was no longer palatable for them. They parted on good terms and Taltharian traveled to the Drezzenville to help Eddie Drezzen repair the damage his impostor had caused. Helping the Joined On the 23rd of Griffon, 1159, right after the explosion atop Strade Hall when the avatar of Yotia was destroyed, Trista was approached by the Great White Wizard Dillman. He explained to her that he believed that a party of enemies were destroying the avatars of several gods but that it resulted in the avatar's power lodging in the spirits of certain mortals who would appear somewhat near the site of the ritual that destroyed the Avatar. He asked Trista to have the Raven's Eye keep a lookout for any such individuals and assist them if possible. She began making inquiries and it was not long before she received word that a group of strangers who seemed to fit the had arrived in the city, but that the Crown was also on to them. She sent a team from the Raven's Claw to intercept the group and secure them, which was successful after a skirmish with the unknown forces. The Joined of Yotia was secure, but the family of one of them, Walter Penderghast, was subsequently arrested. At the request of Dillman, Trista worked to find a way to extract the Joined of Yotia from Emeron City safely. She reached out to Martok Stonecutter, whom she knew from traveling with the Heroes of Prophecy, to secure sanctuary in the Kingdom of Thorgain. The problem was that Walter refused to leave Emeron City while his family was locked up in prison. Trista was willing to help, but not at the risk of her entire organization. The solution came in the form of the Joined of Vesper who arrived in Emeron on the 22nd of Lion. Trista participated in a clandestine meeting with them at the Brewmaster's Beerstien. Among the membership of the Joined of Vesper was Walter's son Froderik, who was as keen to free his family from custody as his father. A team was assembled from the two groups and Trista provided them with an ancient map through the sewers that led to the dungeons of Castle Finarte, where the Penderghasts were being held. Betrayal On the 25th of Lion the selected group broken into Castle Finarte and broke the Penderghast family out of the dungeons. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to anyone, Joane of the Joined of Yotia betrayed everyone by going to the Crown. Joane informed them of the plan for the jailbreak as well as the assistance that was being provided to all of the Joined by Trista, Dillman, Professors Sumnim and Chickwood and Klaron Shatterstone, the owner of the Brewmaster's Beerstien. The crown organized hasty raids on several locations of the conspirators Joane named, including on Trista's home and business. Fortunately Trista's spies provided her with ample notice and she was a step ahead of the City Watch when they came for her. Trista met the Joined of Vesper and the Joined of Yotia, as well as the rest of the conspirators, in the Hemlock Tops Forest where she promised to keep her word and escort the Joined of Yotia and the Penderghast family to safety in the Dwarven Mountains. Appearance and Abilities Trista appears as a short and slight middle aged half elf with green eyes and red hair. Because she does not age some whisper that she is more than a simple half elf, the rumors ranging from a demon to a goddess in disguise. Trista is a skilled archer and capable sword fighter and in spite of her age she is still incredibly agile and nimble. She is well versed in stealth, lock picking and disguise. She has a vast information network within the city and keeps abreast of intelligence both in the noble circles as well as among the commoners and often has keen insights as to what is going in in Emeron City. Category:Emeron Category:Characters Category:NPCs Category:PC